I was taking medication to control my heartburn. Without it, I would be miserable every day. I’ve now discontinued that medication and have yet to experience any discomfort. Thanks for getting me back on a diet that works for me! —VR "[These drugs] were never intended for people with heartburn, about 60 to 70 percent of people taking these drugs have mild heartburn and shouldn’t be on them."
—Mitchell Katz, MD director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health I was either hungry or sick to my stomach and bloated. Dr. Greg figured out what I am allergic to so that my stomach no longer hurts. We desensitized those and were also able to address some seasonal allergies. My side effects of poor health are fading quickly. Thank you everyone at the Alaska Health Improvement Center. —AS My six year old son was not quite right, but not one thing stood out except his huge and bloated belly on such a thin and bony body. I thought he might grow out of that and his icy cold hands and feet, his dark circles under his eyes and pale skin. But his tummy aches were too much for me to wait and see if he would grow out of them. Nothing is worse than a miserable young child who really can’t tell you what is wrong, but it was very wrong. And, he was getting very lethargic, far away, and grumpy. After just a couple of visits with Dr. Greg, he is now bright and cheery in the morning, ready to go. He thinks clearly and has a ton of energy. Best of all there are no more tummy aches after meals and he has regular bowel movements. Sparkly eyes, he takes things in stride more and less negativity all around. —AS |
Even when heartburn is caused by eating a wrong food or consuming too much caffeine, alcohol or nicotine; heartburn or acid reflux are not caused by too much acid in your stomach—in fact it’s usually a problem with too little acid. Unfortunately, this is one area where “modern medicine” provides care that may do more harm than good: Drugs are NOT advisable for the majority of heartburn and acid reflux cases. If you’re taking a prescription drug to treat your heartburn you’re doing three things, none of which are beneficial: - You’re treating a symptom only; you’re not addressing the underlying cause, and
- by doing so, you’re exposing yourself to additional, and potentially more dangerous health problems, courtesy of the drug itself;
- reducing acid in your stomach diminishes your primary defense mechanism for food-borne infections, which will increase your risk of food poisoning, as well as a common culprit: H. pilorii.
You want to increase your body’s natural production of stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) and restore gastric balance and function: - consume enough of the raw material—your body may be low in the chloride it needs, or there are certain supplements that can provide immediate support for digesting food and killing unwanted bacteria living in your stomach;
- improve your immune system—there is likely an infectious component causing the problem;
- balance your bowel flora, which can help eliminate helicobacter pilorii naturally. It will also aid in proper digestion and assimilation of your food;
- modify your diet—eating processed foods and sugars is a surefire way to exacerbate acid reflux as it will upset the bacterial balance in your stomach and intestine. Instead, you’ll want to eat a lot of vegetables, plus high quality, organic, biodynamic, and locally grown foods.
The first step is to find the cause of the heartburn; the second is to fix that cause.
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